1982 Alberta general election

1982 Alberta general election

November 2, 1982 (1982-11-02)
79 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta 40 seats were needed for a majority
Turnout	66.00%
Majority party Minority party Third party   WCC Leader Peter Lougheed Grant Notley Gordon Kesler Party Progressive Conservative New Democratic Western Canada Concept Leader since 1965 1968 1982 Leader's seat Calgary-West Spirit River-Fairview ran in Highwood (lost) Last election 74 seats, 57.4% 1 seat, 15.8% pre-creation Seats before 73 1 1 Seats won 75 2 0 Seat change 2 1 1 Popular vote 588,485 177,166 111,131 Percentage 62.3% 18.7% 11.8% Swing 4.9% 2.9% —   Fourth party Fifth party   SC ARM Leader George Richardson Tom Sindlinger Party Social Credit Reform Movement Leader since 1982 1982 Leader's seat ran in Whitecourt (lost) Calgary-Buffalo (lost re-election) Last election 4 seats, 19.9% pre-creation Seats before 1 1 Seats won 0 0 Seat change 1 1 Popular vote 7,843 6,258 Percentage 0.8% 0.7% Swing 19.1% —
Premier before election Peter Lougheed Progressive Conservative Premier after election Peter Lougheed Progressive Conservative

The 1982 Alberta general election was held on November 2, 1982, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.

Less than four years had passed since the Progressive Conservatives won their landslide victory in 1979. Premier Peter Lougheed decided to call a snap election to catch fledgling new parties off guard, most notably the separatist Western Canada Concept which was capitalizing on anger over Lougheed's perceived weakness in dealings with the federal government, in particular his acceptance of the hugely unpopular National Energy Program. The WCC's Gordon Kesler had won a by-election earlier in the year, and Lougheed decided that it would be wise to stage a showdown with the WCC sooner rather than later.

Lougheed then proceeded to mount a campaign based largely on scare tactics, warning Albertans angry with Ottawa but yet uneasy with the WCC that they could end up with a separatist government by voting for a separatist party. Lougheed would also promise to sell the government owned airline Pacific Western Airlines, which the Lougheed government had purchased in 1974. The strategy worked for the Tories, who won their fourth consecutive term in government, and returned to the 62% popular vote level it had attained in the 1975 election. This netted the Tories 75 seats in the legislature—in terms of percentage of seats won, the second-largest majority government in the province's history. In the process, they reduced the opposition to only four MLAs in total.

The Alberta Liberal Party was punished in the wake of the NEP. Barely able to field candidates in a third of the ridings, it went down to one of its worst showings in party history.

The Social Credit Party bottomed out after spending a decade in the wilderness after losing power in 1971. In a harbinger of things to come, Socred leader Robert Curtis Clark returned to the backbench shortly after the 1979 election, and retired from politics in 1981. Clark's old seat of Olds-Didsbury was resoundingly lost to the WCC in the ensuing by-election, dropping the Socreds to only three seats, one short of official party status. In March 1982, Socred parliamentary leader Raymond Speaker announced the Socreds would sit out the election. A resolution was put forward to disband the party, but failed. After the writs were issued for the 1982 election, two of the remaining three Socred MLAs, Speaker and Walt Buck, resigned from the party to run for reelection as independents. The third, Fred Mandeville, opted not to run for reelection. With no incumbents for the first time since 1935 and no full-time leader, the party's share of the popular vote fell from almost 20% to less than one percent. It was shut out of the legislature for the first time since 1935, never to return. Speaker and Buck, however, did win reelection, and later formed the Representative Party of Alberta after being denied opposition status.

The New Democratic Party, led by Grant Notley, became the official opposition when Ray Martin was elected to the legislature. Notley had been the sole NDP MLA for more than a decade.

The WCC, a party that advocated the separation of the four western provinces of Canada to form a new country, had surprised Canadians when Kesler won his by-election and took a seat in the Alberta legislature. Although Kesler lost his seat in this election after he changed electoral districts from Olds-Didsbury and ran in Highwood, the WCC won almost 12% of the popular vote.

The Alberta Reform Movement, a new party founded by ex-Progressive Conservative Tom Sindlinger was caught unaware when the election was called, and ended up losing its only seat in Calgary Buffalo.

Opinion polls

Evolution of voting intentions at provincial level

Polling firm	Last day of survey	Source	PCA	ANDP	WCC	ALP	ASC	Other	Undecided	ME	Sample
Election 1982	November 2, 1982		62.28	18.75	11.76	1.81	0.83
Alberta Report	September 26, 1982		71	15	7	5	2	—	—	—	2,370
Alberta Report	September 26, 1982		52	17	20	7	3	—	31	—	400
Election 1979	March 14, 1979		57.40	15.75	—	6.16	19.87

Results

Overall voter turnout was 66.00%.

Party		Party leader	# of candidates	Seats				Popular vote
				1979	Diss.	Elected	% Change	#	%	% Change
	Progressive Conservative	Peter Lougheed	79	74	73	75	+1.4%	588,485	62.28%	+4.88%
	New Democratic	Grant Notley	79	1	1	2	+100%	177,166	18.75%	+3.00%
	Independent		34	-	2	2	-	36,590	3.87%	+3.10%
	Western Canada Concept	Gordon Kesler	78	*	1	-	*	111,131	11.76%	*
	Liberal	Nicholas Taylor	29	-	-	-	-	17,074	1.81%	-4.35%
	Social Credit	George Richardson	23	4	1	-	-100%	7,843	0.83%	-19.04%
	Alberta Reform Movement	Tom Sindlinger	14	*	1	-	-100%	6,258	0.66%	*
	Communist		8	-	-	-	-	389	0.04%	-0.01%
Total			344	79	79	79	-	944,936	100%
Source: Elections Alberta

Note:

* Party did not nominate candidates in the previous election.

Popular vote PC   62.28% New Democratic   18.75% WCC   11.76% Liberal   1.81% Social Credit   0.83% Others   4.57%

Seats summary PC   94.94% New Democratic   2.53% Independent   2.53%

Results by riding

Electoral district	Candidates										Incumbent
	PC		NDP		Western Canada Concept		Liberal		Other
Athabasca		Frank Appleby 5,342 56.96%		Ed Caraher 1,952 20.81%		Con Sehn 1,538 16.40%				Adam Hauch (SoCred) 529 5.64%		Frank Appleby
Banff-Cochrane		Greg Stevens 8,369 72.06%		David Evans 1,288 11.09%		Larry Peterson 1,919 16.52%						Greg Stevens
Barrhead		Kenneth R. Kowalski 5,001 51.37%		Harold E. Wharton 478 4.91%		John Thomas Mitchell 633 6.50%		Nicholas Taylor 3,331 34.22%		Shirley Bassani (SoCred) 240 2.47% Ernie Charman (ARM) 39 0.40%		Hugh F. Horner
Bonnyville		Ernie Isley 4,842 59.43%		Tom Turner 2,547 31.26%		Eric E. Enns 732 8.98%						Ernie Isley
Bow Valley		Tom N. Musgrove 4,541 60.06%		Bradley Neubauer 266 3.52%						Murray Erickson (Ind.) 2,719 35.96%		Fred T. Mandeville
Calgary-Bow		Neil Webber 9,412 70.02%		Catherine Martini 2,293 17.06%		Roy P. Rasmusen 1,059 7.88%		Floyd Allen 380 2.83%		Douglas Stewart Williams (SoCred) 253 1.88%		Neil Webber
Calgary-Buffalo		Brian Craig Lee 7,591 62.01%		Barry Pashak 1,211 9.89%		Anita Bozak 739 6.04%				Tom Sindlinger (ARM) 2649 21.64%		Tom Sindlinger
Calgary-Currie		Dennis L. Anderson 9,701 75.51%		Glenn Miller 1,417 11.03%		Darwin M. Sorenson 1,018 7.92%		Rork Hilford 686 5.34%				Dennis L. Anderson
Calgary-Egmont		David John Carter 10,331 78.18%		Leroy Thompson 1,128 8.54%		Richard A. Langen 1,174 8.88%		Bernie C. Tanner 396 3.00%		Victor Lenko (ARM) 158 1.20%		Merv Leitch
Calgary-Elbow		David J. Russell 7,521 69.64%		Thora Miessner 1,054 9.76%		Gregory J. Langen 829 7.68%		John S. Webb 674 6.24%		Don Carter (Ind.) 520 4.81% Ray Neilson (SoCred) 172 1.59%		David J. Russell
Calgary-Fish Creek		William Edward Payne 17,376 79.63%		Tom Polmear 1,501 6.88%		Byron L. Chenger 2,252 10.32%		Alan D.J. Sopczak 659 3.02%				William Edward Payne
Calgary-Foothills		Janet Koper 9,708 66.92%		Joanne Hedenstrom 2,249 15.50%		Robert Moyor 1,438 9.91%		Larry Adorjan 540 3.72%		Carol Stein (Ind.) 570 3.93%		Stewart A. McCrae
Calgary-Forest Lawn		John Zaozirny 9,704 73.94%		Ken Richmond 1,478 11.26%		Henry Hein Braeutigam 1,244 9.48%		J.V.W. Gairy 314 2.39%		Ella Ayers (SoCred) 294 2.24% Bruce Potter (Comm) 56 0.43%		John Zaozirny
Calgary-Glenmore		Hugh L. Planche 13,835 77.63%		George Yanchula 1,532 8.60%		Brian McClung 1,864 10.46%				Barry J. Rust (ARM) 526 2.95%		Hugh L. Planche
Calgary-McCall		Stanley Kenneth Nelson 17,493 76.40%		Dennis Bennett 2,673 11.67%		Terry Wolsey 1,728 7.55%				Don Bryant (Ind.) 852 3.72% Grand Tim Majanja (ARM) 120 0.52%		Andrew Little
Calgary-McKnight		Eric Charles Musgreave 12,130 71.54%		Eileen Nesbitt 2,451 14.46%		John J. Jasienczyk 1,332 7.86%		John J. Gleason 621 3.66%		Jerry J. Glowacki (SoCred) 383 2.26%		Eric Charles Musgreave
Calgary-Millican		Gordon Wells Shrake 6,323 68.38%		David Davis Swan 1,626 17.58%		Garnet E. Birch 779 8.42%				Zoritza Kasparian (Ind.) 417 4.51% Doris Schupp (Comm) 50 0.54%		David John Carter
Calgary-Mountain View		Bohdan Zip 7,187 57.43%		Phil Elder 3,372 26.95%		Stephen B. Keeling 772 6.17%		J. Curtis Joynt 420 3.36%		Diane Ablonczy (Ind.) 706 5.64%		Stan Kushner
Calgary-North Hill		Ed Oman 9,168 72.50%		Agnes Middleton 1,753 13.86%		Gordon Kennard 968 7.66%		Dorothy Groves 701 5.54%				Ed Oman
Calgary-North West		Sheila Embury 11,711 74.85%		Floyd A. Johnson 1,745 11.15%		Walter Kostiuk 1,768 11.30%				A. Leith McClure (SoCred) 404 2.58%		Sheila Embury
Calgary-West		Peter Lougheed 11,668 78.41%		Ed Smith 1,175 7.90%		Bruce Roper 1,106 7.43%		Barbara Ann Scott 598 4.02%		Leonard Petterson (SoCred) 251 1.69%		Peter Lougheed
Camrose		Gordon Stromberg 10,547 63.53%		Garry Oberg 3,070 18.49%		Keith Schmidt 2,900 17.47%						Gordon Stromberg
Cardston		John Thompson 3,738 59.14%		Leslie N. Howard 250 3.96%		Steve Pinchak 2,309 36.53%						John Thompson
Chinook		Henry Kroeger 4,837 73.54%		Gladys Creasy 465 7.07%		Jack Ramsey 1,266 19.25%						Henry Kroeger
Clover Bar		Sten Berg 5,434 35.67%		David Morris 1,683 11.05%		Sig Jorstad 1,783 11.71%				Walt A. Buck (Ind.) 6,312 41.44%		Walt A. Buck
Cypress		Alan Hyland 4,170 64.27%		Rudolf Schempp 637 9.82%		Gifford Woodcock 590 9.09%				Orville Reber (Ind.) 1,080 16.65%		Alan Hyland
Drayton Valley		Shirley Cripps 4,906 66.75%		Lynne Martin 1,155 15.71%		George Perdicaris 1,265 17.21%						Shirley Cripps
Drumheller		Lewis (Mickey) Clark 8,148 68.14%		Gerry Hamilton 1,124 9.40%		Vern Hoff 2,630 21.99%						Lewis (Mickey) Clark
Edmonton-Avonmore		Horst A. Schmid 6,606 52.92%		Kathleen Wright 4,045 32.40%		Jake Johnson 1,275 10.21%				Leif Oddson (SoCred) 466 3.73% Rona Drennan (Comm) 40 0.32%		Horst A. Schmid
Edmonton-Belmont		Walter R. Szwender 6,579 54.51%		John Younie 3,893 32.25%		Dennis Peter 986 8.17%				Elmer Knutson (Ind.) 512 4.24% Joan Jenkins (Comm) 37 0.31%		William L. Mack
Edmonton-Beverly		Bill W. Diachuk 6,894 50.51%		Winston Gereluk 5,638 41.31%		Dexter B. Dombro 819 6.00%				Steve Kostiuk (SoCred) 268 1.96%		Bill W. Diachuk
Edmonton-Calder		Tom Chambers 8,442 55.31%		Christie Mjolsness 5,527 36.21%		Walter Stack 1,274 8.35%						Tom Chambers
Edmonton-Centre		Mary LeMessurier 5,414 49.72%		Iain Taylor 3,578 32.86%		Larry McIlroy 812 7.46%		Brian McKercher 849 7.80%		Lawlor J. McKenna (SoCred) 197 1.81%		Mary LeMessurier
Edmonton-Glengarry		Rollie Cook 5,997 58.38%		Garth Stevenson 3,181 30.96%		Gordon Reid 1,037 10.09%						Rollie Cook
Edmonton-Glenora		Lou Hyndman 7,724 61.88%		H.D. (Tony) Smith 2,555 20.47%		Fred Marshall 1,649 13.21%		Jerry Paschen 534 4.28%				Lou Hyndman
Edmonton-Gold Bar		Alois Paul Hiebert 7,223 56.65%		Allen Eng 3,563 27.94%		Joe Wanner 996 7.81%		Laurie Switzer 567 4.45%		Chuck Bolton (Ind.) 387 3.04%		Alois Paul Hiebert
Edmonton-Highlands		David T. King 5,157 54.36%		Marilyn Burnett 3,493 36.82%		Dave Maetche 721 7.60%				Naomi J. Rankin (Comm) 66 0.70%		David T. King
Edmonton-Jasper Place		Leslie Gordon Young 6,723 57.53%		Don Aitken 3,498 29.93%		John B. Ludwig 987 8.45%				Peter A. Keohan (SoCred) 241 2.06% G. Crofton (ARM) 179 1.53%		Leslie Gordon Young
Edmonton-Kingsway		Carl Paproski 4,294 41.62%		Alex McEachern 3,879 37.59%		Curtis Long 669 6.48%		Bill Broad 318 3.08%		Mark Byington (Ind.) 950 9.21% George Klimuk (SoCred) 192 1.86%		Kenneth R.H. Paproski
Edmonton-Meadowlark		Gerard Joseph Amerongen 10,817 58.44%		Robert Henderson 4,590 24.80%		Al Wilson 1,511 8.16%		Naseer A. Chaudhary 776 4.19%		William (Bill) Dickson (Ind.) 423 2.29% Andy H. Groenink (SoCred) 345 1.86%		Gerard Joseph Amerongen
Edmonton-Mill Woods		Milt Pahl 10,095 55.75%		Gerry Gibeault 5,159 28.49%		Dave Fletcher 1,894 10.46%		Winston Mohabir 590 3.26%		Terry Juba (SoCred) 329 1.82%		Milt Pahl
Edmonton-Norwood		Tony Falcone 4,782 45.25%		Ray Martin 4,857 45.96%		John Hudson 569 5.38%				George J.P. Wowk (SoCred) 263 2.49% David Wallis (Comm) 37 0.35%		Catherine Chichak
Edmonton-Parkallen		Neil S. Crawford 8,229 55.30%		Jim Russell 5,771 38.78%		Merv Gray 823 5.53%				Chris Frazer (Comm) 39 0.26%		Neil S. Crawford
Edmonton-Sherwood Park		Henry Woo 8,401 54.70%		Ted Paszek 3,462 22.54%		Al Oeming 3,029 19.72%				Al Howell (ARM) 450 2.93%		Henry Woo
Edmonton-Strathcona		Julian Koziak 7,105 47.73%		Gordon S.B. Wright 6,643 44.63%		Randy Coombes 743 4.99%				Murray W. Scambler (ARM) 279 1.87% Joe Hill (Comm) 64 0.43%		Julian Koziak
Edmonton-Whitemud		Keith Alexander 10,696 58.98%		Leslie Bella 4,884 26.93%		Erika Guidera 1,209 6.67%		Philip Lister 791 4.36%		Joe Trenchy (Ind.) 291 1.60% Keith Schultz (SoCred) 241 1.33%		Peter Knaak
Edson		Ian Reid 6,003 56.88%		Eilir Thomas 3,232 30.62%		Lynn Lewis 1,284 12.17%						Ian Reid
Grande Prairie		Bob Elliott 9,555 58.11%		Bernie Desrosiers 3,280 19.95%		Jack Smith 2,249 13.68%		Colin Nash 331 2.01%		Jake Paetkau (Ind.) 504 3.06% Roy Housworth (SoCred) 494 3.00%		Elmer Borstad
Highwood		Harry E. Alger 7,811 69.89%		William C. McCutcheon 465 4.16%		Gordon Kesler 2,006 17.95%				Ronald G. Arkes (ARM) 183 1.64%		George Wolstenholme
Innisfail		Nigel I. Pengelly 6,684 70.66%		Lyle B. Bleich 738 7.80%		George Conway-Brown 2,001 21.15%						Nigel I. Pengelly
Lac La Biche-McMurray		Norman A. Weiss 6,844 56.74%		Dermond Travis 3,481 28.86%		Jim Williams 1,021 8.46%		Roland J. Woodward 584 4.84%				Norman A. Weiss
Lacombe		Ron A. Moore 5,141 61.12%		Glen R. Nelson 1,108 13.17%		Terry Long 1,339 15.92%				Howard P. Thompson (Ind.) 811 9.64%		John William Cookson
Lesser Slave Lake		Larry R. Shaben 3,150 57.48%		Gary D. Kennedy 914 16.68%		Garth Lodge 607 11.08%		Joseph D. Blyan 466 8.50%		George Keay (Ind.) 316 5.77%		Larry R. Shaben
Lethbridge-East		Archibald Dick Johnston 8,716 69.57%		Ed McRae 1,369 10.93%		Mike Bennison 1,054 8.41%		John I. Boras 962 7.68%		Paul R. Belanger (ARM) 400 3.19%		Archibald Dick Johnston
Lethbridge-West		John Gogo 8,302 69.37%		Ian Whishaw 1,844 15.41%		G.M. Genstad 938 7.84%				Jerry Waldern (SoCred) 480 4.01% Brenda L. Perkins (ARM) 377 3.15%		John Gogo
Little Bow		Cliff Wright 2,144 33.75%		Beth Jantzie 168 2.64%		Wayne Lawlor 851 13.40%				Raymond Albert Speaker (Ind.) 3,174 49.97%		Raymond Albert Speaker
Lloydminster		James Edgar Miller 5,581 71.86%		Robin Allan 905 11.65%		Jerry Butz 1,249 16.08%						James Edgar Miller
Macleod		LeRoy Fjordbotten 6,136 71.34%		Paul Abilgaard 546 6.35%		Ellis Oviatt 1,293 15.03%		Inez Watmough 144 1.67%				LeRoy Fjordbotten
Medicine Hat		James Horsman 14,654 81.20%		Clarence W. Smith 2,072 11.48%		David F. Lees 996 5.52%				Frank F. Cottingham (Ind.) 286 1.58%		James Horsman
Olds-Didsbury		Stephen Stiles 5,096 46.91%		Roy Agnew 233 2.14%		Daryl M. Jaddock 2,714 24.98%						Gordon Kesler
Peace River		Al (Boomer) Adair 4,688 56.14%		Richard Collins 1,541 18.46%		J.A. Jim Kalman 1,657 19.84%		Laura M. Deedza 211 2.53%		Joseph (Little Joe) Kessler (Ind.) 225 2.69%		Al (Boomer) Adair
Pincher Creek-Crowsnest		Frederick Deryl Bradley 4,388 64.52%		Mike Cooper 1,636 24.06%		Dennis Olson 650 9.56%		Jerry Potts 109 1.60%				Frederick Deryl Bradley
Ponoka		Halvar C. Jonson 4,031 50.65%		C.W. (Bill) Loov 876 11.01%		Tom Butterfield 2,646 33.25%				Paul M. Bateman (ARM) 235 2.95% Eric Ostergaard (Ind.) 154 1.94%		Donald J. McCrimmon
Red Deer		Jim McPherson 10,659 54.70%		Kendall Dunford 1,915 9.83%		Wynne Richard Hanson 1,468 7.53%				Bob Mills (Ind.) 5,396 27.69%		Norman F. Magee
Redwater-Andrew		George Topolnisky 4,438 50.98%		Steve Leskiw 2,507 28.80%		Roger P. Pullishy 1,121 12.88%		Lawrence D. McCallum 157 1.80%		Michael Senych (Ind.) 467 5.36%		George Topolnisky
Rocky Mountain House		John Murray Campbell 6,443 65.99%		Dolly Martin 1,191 12.20%		Art Carritt 2,116 21.67%						John Murray Campbell
Smoky River		Marvin Moore 3,950 57.79%		Anne Hemmingway 1,537 22.49%		Andrew Blum 1,316 19.25%						Marvin Moore
Spirit River-Fairview		Doug Snider 3,260 41.61%		Grant W. Notley 3,443 43.95%		Dan Fletcher 1,093 13.95%						Grant W. Notley
St. Albert		Myrna Fyfe 12,982 54.60%		Kurt Hoeberg 4,438 18.67%		Murray Sillito 2,465 10.37%				William Ernest Jamison (Ind.) 3,406 14.33% L.D. Callfas (SoCred) 434 1.83%		Myrna Fyfe
St. Paul		John Drobot 4,269 55.97%		Laurent (Jeff) Dubois 2,872 37.66%		Iris Bourne 447 5.86%						Charles E. Anderson
Stettler		Graham L. Harle 4,915 71.40%		Fred J. Rappel 617 8.96%		Doug Carmichael 1,334 19.38%						Graham L. Harle
Stony Plain		William Frederick Purdy 10,210 59.73%		Jim Bell 2,905 16.99%		John G. Parkes 2,337 13.67%				Ralph Eikeland (SoCred) 299 1.75% Murray Fuhr (ARM) 202 1.18%		William Frederick Purdy
Taber-Warner		Robert Bogle 6,800 70.97%		Catherine R. McCreary 486 5.07%		Ronald Johnson 1,811 18.90%				Emil D. Gundlock (ARM) 461 4.81%		Robert Bogle
Three Hills		Connie Osterman 8,693 77.47%		James B. Schleppe 549 4.89%		Vern Meek 1,949 17.37%						Connie Osterman
Vegreville		John S. Batiuk 4,526 53.51%		Bob Sarafinchan 2,418 28.59%		Loren Yasinski 807 9.54%				Barry M. Bernard (Ind.) 202 2.39%Robert E. Robert (SoCred) 487 5.76%		John S. Batiuk
Vermilion-Viking		Tom Lysons 4,357 58.20%		Grant Bergman 1,205 16.10%		Richard Van Ee 1,742 23.27%				Patrick A. Moore (SoCred) 159 2.12%		Tom Lysons
Wainwright		Robert A. (Butch) Fischer 4,589 61.68%		John Wesley Connelly 476 6.40%		Bill Veitch 2,145 28.83%		Joseph A. Vermette 218 2.93%				Charles Stewart
Wetaskiwin-Leduc		Donald H. Sparrow 12,923 63.76%		Earl R. Rasmuson 3,190 15.74%		Bill Hosford 3,511 17.32%				Barry Cook (Ind.) 576 2.84%		Dallas Schmidt
Whitecourt		Peter Trynchy 4,635 51.46%		Richard Davies 1,220 13.55%		Andy Lee 2,276 25.27%		John M. Powers 147 1.63%		George L. Richardson (SoCred) 685 7.61%		Peter Trynchy

See also

• List of Alberta political parties

Further reading

• Byers, R. B., ed. (1984). Canadian Annual Review of Politics and Public Affairs, 1982. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 9781442671966.